Es gibt ein Licht ganz am Ende des Tunnels
by Harley-the-Great
Summary: [StEx] the story of Harleen, the passenger car, and how she came to be who she is...
1. Chapter the first

A/N: all right, this is not fanfiction per se, but it is set in the StEx universe, and it will continue and end with the character we all know and love

this is the story of an RP character of mine, written becouse I figured I didn't really know all that much about her, so I sat down and asked some questions, and this is the result.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

They stare.  
Blue eyes, dark eyes, light eyes...why do they stare?

She stood in front of them feeling like a freak in a circus, the teacher was saying something, she can't remember what he was saying, something about her,

"_Starting a new school is always hard_" Oma had told her, no idea how right she was.

The teacher told her to sit down, pointing at the vacant seat beside a pale blue coach, quietly she rolled over and sat down, keeping her eyes down, avoiding any eye contact

"What kind are you?" the coach asked her, she looks up, she's a diner, she could tell

"Passenger" she said simply, she could just see the smirk forming behind the diner's eyes, every time…

"What's your name?" oh would the questions never stop…

"Harley"

"Oh, that's a rather…Unique name" yeah, another word for stupid

"I'm Tatiana"

"Pleasure"

Nothing more was said after that, not that she would have liked it to…Tatiana didn't seem too eager to socialize with her anyway

Story of her life…

* * *

As the bell rung for recess she couldn't help but feel relieved, a moment there longer and the quick glances and sneaky giggles would have driven her crazy.

The school yard looked all right.

A large pawed area with some grassy spots and a few trees, most of who where occupied by students eating lunch or chatting, even some couples.

She dared to go and find a tree for herself.

Rolling through the yard she looked around, groups of people everywhere;

There were the **Coaches**; even they were divided into groups:

There were the first class, and then the ones trying to be first class but not quite cutting it.

She made a mental note of avoiding them at all costs.

Then there were the **Engines**, standing around looking tough…she'd bet her lunch money on that most of them were acting.

Then lastly there were the **Freight**, what could be said about the freight?

Made fun of by Coaches, looked down on by Engines, often not the brightest of the bunch…

Finally, after much searching she found a spot not too far away from the school, but still far enough that no one was there before her and she had her privacy.  
Just the way she liked it.  
She reached down into her bag, pulling out an old looking book and flipping it open on a marked place.

"Hey! You're new here, aren't you?"

Her eyes snapped upwards, meeting a pair of dark brown ones, almost black.

It was a caboose of a dark red color, almost violet, dark wavy hair topped with a brown cap.

"Gee, one could think I was carrying a sign"

He let out a soft chuckle

"According to the way they talk about you, one could say you were"

She turned back to her book. "That's nice"

Maybe she wasn't being as nice and friendly as she should be, surely this was no way to make friends…but after sitting beside a preppy coach all day, having to endure the whisperings, she couldn't help it.

Fortunately, he didn't give up that easily.

"Well, may I know your name?"

"Harley…and yes, usually that is a boy's name"

"I wasn't gonna ask"

"Right"

"really!...I'm JD, the resident 'Boose" the slight pride at that statement was obvious, and now as she thought about it…she didn't remember seeing any other Caboose there…strange.

"So…may I sit down?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him, a slight smile now crossing her features

"No! I absolutely forbid you to sit near MY tree" she told him in mock arrogance, then sent him a wink.

He just laughed and sat down.

* * *

They say time passes when you're having fun, and right they are! Before she knew it, the bell tolled end of recess

"Oh man, guess I gotta go back in there, huh?" she groaned, the thought of being stuck with them coaches was unthinkable

"Yep, guess so"

"Well, wish me luck" standing up she showed her book back into her bag

"Good luck…I'll seeya around?"

"Yeah, seeya around"

Then she entered the dreaded building again…

* * *

After this, things started looking up, even though it kept going downhill when it came to the coaches and engines, at least she had some friends now, namely the freight and another low class coach called Kathy.  
And so the weeks passed without anything interesting happening, though soon the inevitable thing happened…

She was late! Again! Fuck it!

Skating through the hall as fast as her wheels could carry her, she wasn't exactly looking around where she was going…and before she knew what happened, she was experiencing the hardness of the floor…with her butt.

"oh, excuse me" a soft voice spoke to her, and the next thing she saw was a leather clad hand extending to help her up, hesitantly she took it

"It was my fault" she told him "I wasn't looking…"

She looked up to see his face

"…where I was…going" he was like an angel, mentally she took back all the things she had said about the engines…she was speechless, silently taking in his neatly cropped black hair, long straight nose and full mouth…he was perfect

"Eh…are you all right? You look a little flustered?"

With a slight shock she noted the fact that her face felt hot, damn her tendency to blush easily

"Erm…yes, I'm fine" she told him hurriedly "I have to go now" and without another word she fled, brushed past him, face burning.

* * *

"Who is he?"

Harleen and JD were sitting under their tree during recess; the very tree they had met under, it had become a kind of their spot since then.

"Who?" JD looked up from the essay he was rushing to finish before next period, when it was due…just like him to be right on the last minute with doing things

"He" she gestured to the group of engines nearby "the one with the black hair, the diesel"

"Oh, that's Max" he looked uninterested to say the least

"Hmm…Max…that short for anything?" she asked, not tearing her eyes from her object of desire

"Erm…yes, Maximilian" he looked up at her, his eyes narrowing slightly when he noticed that dreamy, love struck expression

"I wouldn't bother if I were you"

"What do you mean?" she turned on him sharply, eyes narrowed

"he's one of these guys who only go for high class coaches, besides, I hear Lena's got her eye set on him…" he trailed off, but she knew what he meant, she also knew it was true, but at the moment her head denied it

"So you're saying I'm not good enough for him?" her voice was low and dangerous

"No Harley…" she cut him off

"Well, let me tell you something, I don't care what you think, I'm just as good as her, even if I'm not shiny or first class"

"I know…but…"

"Shut it!" she hissed, standing up, looking down at him, her eyes steely grey and hard "she's nothing but a blond airhead bimbo!"

He rose to his feet too, his hands gripping her arms, his dark eyes staring into hers

"But she's a _pretty_ airhead bimbo…" _and that's all that matter to guys like Max_' he was going to say, but before he could finish the sentence, a sharp pain across his cheek cut him off.  
She slapped him…hard  
He looked up at her  
She looked flustered and from what he could tell, her eyes were swimming with unshed tears

"Don't you ever…" her voice quivered and broke, then she turned and skated away as fast as he wheels could take her, away from the school, away from the coaches…but most of all…away from JD.

* * *

The slam of the door roused Oma as she had been dozing on the sofa, but Harley didn't stop, moving at full speed to her room and slammed the door shut after her, throwing herself onto her bed she did something she hadn't done in quite a while…

She cried...

* * *

A/N: well, I don't know how good this is, since I'm not much of a writer...so, some feedback would be much appreaciated 

and please don't flame with poinless statemennt, if you're gonna tell me it's bad...please, at least give me a reason for the badness


	2. Chapter the second

A/N - well, there's the next chapter, it's slightly shorter than the first one...ah well...thank ya'll for the reviews (all two )

* * *

The next day when she arrived at school she wasn't surprised to find JD ignoring her completely, after all, she had been the one to blow up in his face about nothing of importance…she made a mental note of talking to him during recess. 

Classes passed rather uneventfully, if not counted the time Lena leaned towards her and asked her if her hair was naturally this scruffy or was it an achieved look…earning a glare and a...  
"Yes, I wake up a 6 each morning just fix it" she was not it the mood for witty blondes right now…well, was she ever?  
Then as she rolled out the door, she was met with something very tall, dark and handsome

"Oh, hello…erm…Harriet, right?" she blushed

"Harley"

"right, Harley…you're in Lena's class right?" a surge of disappointment ran through her, so JD was right…or perhaps he was just figuring things out, another part of her brain thought, the optimistic one.  
She nodded, confirming his question

"Oh, I thought so…would you do me a favor?" he asked her and smiled…she almost swooned

"…uh…of course" he brightened up at that and reached inside his jacked pulling out a small note, handing it to her

"Will you give this to Lena for me?" and her hopes crumbled, so now she was a delivery boy, she had half a mind to tell him to 'piss off' and give it to her himself, but instead she just reached out a hand and took the note

"Yeah…sure" she sent him a small, half smile, then turned to go find JD

"Hey Harley!" her heart skipped a beat and she turned to face him again

"Yes?"

"Your braid is coming loose…" her face fell, 'no shit, Sherlock'

"Oh, so it is"

* * *

After some searching she found the Caboose surrounded by the rest of the freight, chatting avidly with rather animated gestures, obviously describing something very interesting for the others seemed transfixed, even Kathy was there, her eyes wide behind her large glasses. Harley smiled softly to herself, approaching the group in hopes they wouldn't notice, and then leaned against the wall, waiting for the story to finish.

"Oi! Harley, where've you been all day" Stonehenge the Brick Truck turned, seeing her

"Just around" she shrugged

"Oh! Did you come in time to hear JD's story?" Kathy piped up excitedly "these engines were picking on him…" she was cut off by JD's wave

"She doesn't care" his dark eyes fell on her, and there was something in them Harley had never before seen in the usually cheerful 'boose…was it hurt?

"Actually, JD…I wanted to talk to you"

"Then talk"

"In private"

He stayed silent for a small while, then nodded and skated away, she followed, he stopped at their tree

"All right, now can you talk?" she nodded, her head bowed, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"first off, I'm sorry" she glanced up, no change in his mask, neither acceptance nor denial "I know, you were right, I shouldn't have blown up in you face…and most of all, I had no right to slap you...can you forgive me?"  
long silence, she dared not look up, then soft chuckling reached her ears, her brows furrowed and she glanced up…he was smiling

"Of course I can forgive you, silly" he said, his voice cheerful, then the smile faded a bit "actually, it should be I apologizing…I didn't mean the things I said about you…" she shut him up with a bone-crushing hug

"Shut up" she muttered with a laugh, only glad they were still friends.

"So what made you change your mind about him" he asked her curiously, sitting back against the tree.

She picked up the letter Max had given to her, until now having laid forgotten in her pocket.

"This" she showed it to him "I haven't read it, but it's for Lena…why would he send her a letter if not to ask her to the Dance" she smiled sadly, leaning against him.

"I dunno, why did he ask you to bring it?"

"I'm in her class, and I almost ran him over…again" she grinned at that

"Are you going to read it?" he asked, feeling slightly curious himself

"I don't know…it wouldn't really be very nice…" she paused, thinking it over, and then let out a snicker

"But she's never nice anyway, so I guess it kinda evens out" a wicked grin spread over her featured and she opened the note, reading over the messy handwriting

_Go with me to the Dance?_

_Pretty please?_

_Max _

And that was all, she snorted, though couldn't help the slight pang of jealousy

"Nice way to ask someone out" she commented, turning to JD who was grinning himself

"Oh well, you know Lena is a very simple girl, this probably sounds like the finest poetry to her" Harley had to laugh at that

"Oh so true" they sat in silence for a moment then JD broke it with the question that had been burning her

"Are you gonna take it to her?" she looked at him, grey eyes meeting brown ones

"You think I should?"

"It'd serve him good if you didn't"

"But he'd know it was my fault if she doesn't get it"

"Point"

* * *

And so it came to place that Harley actually did something nice for Lena, now, that was something she had wowed never to do, but at this time she found herself sitting in the classroom waiting for her to arrive. She didn't have to wait long, after about five minutes she heard the tell-tale giggling of Lena and her groupies; she had to fight back a shudder of dislike.

"Hey, Lena!" she called out, getting the coach's attention,Lena turned to look at her, one slender eyebrow cocked in distain, she whispered something to her girlfriends that earned a wave of giggles, Harley's jaw set in dislike, and her hand clutched the letter

"What is it, freight-girl?" Harley almost laughed…was that supposed to be an insult?

"I have something for you" Lena cocked an eyebrow as the other girl handed her the note

"What's that" she opened it and read it over "why are you bringing me this"

"I was the closest" she nodded simply

"Tell him I say yes"

"You tell him yourself, I'm not your messenger dog" Harley's eyes narrowed slightly

"But you could as well be" Lena retorted tartly

"Why you…" she started, but was cut off as the teacher arrived…she made a mental note to make Lena's life miserable.

* * *

"She said yes" Harley stood in front of Max, informing him the 'good' news

"Oh, great!" he smiled brightly "thank you Harvey"

"Harley"

"Right"

* * *

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder 'why her?', why couldn't she be first class like Lena and actually fit in, or like Kathy, who, even though not high class, had found herself a nice steamer, and at least she was pretty, with her light brown hair and heart shaped face. Harley tugged on a reddish brown strand of hair, having fallen free from the braid, reaching down she untied it, letting it fall loose over her shoulders, it almost reached down to her hips, her dark brown hair the only thing she remotely liked about her appearance, it was really thick a wavy and the cause of some envy at her old station…here on the other hand, it was simply made fun of, the scruffiness of it constant cause of hilarity. It was amazing the things they could find to make fun of.  
Sometimes she wondered why she stuck around, why she didn't just go away, leave Lena and the coaches, leave Max and the engines, leave it all

"Hello Harley" arms wrapped around her from behind, the person sensing her dark mood

"Hello JD"

"Listen, I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

"The dance…will you go with me?"

She smiled

"Of course"

And she knew why she stayed.

* * *

A/N: that's all folks  
I'll be in with the next chapter soon... 


	3. Chapter the third

A/N: wow, this must be a record, I have written three chapters of a story, THREE, usually I have lost interest by now...thank you Liz for bugging me into continuing this...besides, I have the ending planned out, so I can't give up :P

* * *

"What am I doing again?" Harley asked for the umpteenth this evening, Kathy just sighed and sent her a comforting smile

"You are going to the dance with JD and I am here to make you pretty" poor Kathy, she must be insane, taking that job

X

They were sitting on Harley's bed, Kathy doing something to her unruly hair that made her squirm occasionally

"Be still, or you're gonna end up looking scruffier than before…if that's possible"

"Oh, har har"

X

Two painful and frustrating hours later, Harley stood in all her newfound glory in front of the mirror, mouth agape that the sight that greeted her eyes. In place of the dusty old Harley, there stood a beautiful coach, her dress was black, cut in an almost medieval style and fitted her frame perfectly, in place of her usual green collar there was a large black choker, and most of her hair had been put up in tiny buns, tied up with a black ribbon, the rest cascaded down her shoulders, reaching down to her waist.

"Wow, Kathy…you are a miracle worker"

"I know" the library coach smiled brightly, her own curly hair tied back, though leaving a few locks to frame her pretty face, she was wearing a plain cream colored dress that underlined her slender frame prettily

"I have a feeling a certain Caboose will be quite knocked of his feet" she winked at Harley, who blushed

"It's not like that; we're just going as friends…I don't like him like that"

"Yeah, aha" Kathy laughed, then let out a 'oomph' as she got a faceful of pillow

X

Why was she doing this again? It baffled her, she wasn't one for fancy dances, nope, not her…but Max would be there…with Lena, she made a face, stupid pretty, first class coaches…

"Harley, dear, please relax…sit down" Oma appeared in the doorway, looking at her with a half smile

"It's all going to be fine, and you look beautiful" Harley sent her a smile

"Yeah, I'm just stressing…all this fancy dance thing is new to me" she let out a small laugh

"Well, you better get used to it then, I know I'd like to see you all dressed up like this more often"

X

The school's gym had been decorated prettily…or at least that was most people's opinion…all but Harley…

The gym was…PINK

Pink ribbons, pink flowers…hell, even the punch was pink…god, who hired the decorators, they must be colorblind, somebody fire them!

She looked around as she entered, her eyes seeking a certain red caboose, the dance floor was filled with people, and even more were lined up against the wall

"Hey Harley, over here!" someone called. She turned to see Kathy waving to her like mad, skating towards her, with Stefan right behind her, the reddish steamer looked slightly out of place there, but he waved 'hello' to her anyway

"Isn't he here yet?" Kathy asked, referring to JD. Harley shook her head, letting out a small sigh.

At that moment the doors opened and in skated the engine of her dreams, she almost swooned; too bad he had Lena hanging off his arm, wearing a hot pink, very short and very revealing dress, Harley almost gagged at the smugness on her face. She glanced back at Stefan, he was all but drooling at the sight…stupid engines…Kathy noticed and quickly hurried to drag her man to the dance floor, sending Harley a reassuring smile as she left, she smiled back, her eyes following Max and his date wistfully…he didn't notice her…not that she expected him to…

A hand on her shoulder stopped her thoughts

"Hello, waiting for me?"

She turned; it was JD, looking handsome as ever, his frame was clean, the red color beautifully bright, his curly black hair tied back with a ruby ribbon and he was smiling gently at her

"You…you're looking beautiful" he told her, looking her over, then he reached out and touched her hair "nice change"

She blushed and suddenly found her skates quite interesting

"Yourlookinggoodtoo" she blurted out…why was she feeling embarrassed, this was JD, her friend, her best friend

"Pardon?" he grinned at her

"I said, you're looking good too" she repeated more slowly, he just laughed…

X

The evening passed pleasantly enough, if not counted the comment she got from Lena on her dress

"What's this, robbed yourgrandma's attic?"

"Heh, at least I didn't arrive in my underwear" If Max hadn't been standing there she was sure Lena would have attacked her or something, actually, Harley would have preferred that to the sight that greeted her eyes in the next slow song

"it's disgusting" she said with a sneer, Lena was all but humping Max's leg, and it looked quite wrong when that tiny little dress drove up to reveal parts of her body that almost made Harley sick to the stomach

"Hey, if it's that bad…don't look" a soft voice spoke beside her, and JD took her arm

She smiled at him

"Sorry, I just really dislike that girl"

"And you hate it that she got your guy"

"He's not my guy"

"You want him to be"

"I…I guess"

"Hmmm…let's dance" he grinned at her

"I don't dance" she shook her head, but he'd hear nothing of it, just took her arm and led her to the dance floor.

It went okay at first and she didn'ttread on anyone's wheels, which was a good thing, she still felt a little silly, but to her surprise, JD actually could dance

"You're just full of surprises tonight" she sent him a grin and he laughed

Then the song ended and the band started a new one…this time it was slow, damn…now things went awkward, she made to exit the dance floor, but he stopped her, taking her hand and pulling her towards him, she was slightly startled, but quickly relaxed, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, his arms around her waist…it sort of surprised her how…un-awkward this felt

It got her thinking, why wasn't she attracted to JD, he was nice…she looked up at him, he was good looking, she couldn't deny that, with his dark curls and brown eyes, she bet that If he were an engine he'd have all the coaches over him.

The longer she pondered on this subject the more it made sense to her, besides, according to Kathy, he liked her…as in attracted to her…it baffled her though…

"Harley…" he suddenly whispered

"Yes?" she looked up at him, their eyes meeting

"You really do look beautiful tonight…"

"Thank you"

After that, things happened naturally; he leaned down, their lips meeting in a silent kiss

Harley's first kiss

She closed her eyes and felt it…

…

…nothing

This didn't feel right, where were the fireworks? The pleasant tingles Kathy had told her about? The funny feeling in the pit of her stomach?…she felt nothing.

She pulled away, opening her eyes to look at him, his eyes told her everything

He felt the same

Apparently they were not meant to be together like that

"No?" he asked simply

"No" she confirmed with a small smile

He sent he a smile back

And the dance continued…

* * *

review? 


	4. Chapter the fourth

**chapter the fourth:**

Monday morning after the dance, Harley couldn't help but feel slightly surprised at the normalness of everything around her, the dance seemed to have never happened, that kiss was forgotten…the only thing that she noticed out of the usual, was, that much to her dismay Max and Lena were now coupled and were looking so disgustingly in love that she couldn't help but cringe every time she looked at them, the way she hung off his arm, looking up at him lovingly with those big green eyes…it was enough to make a truck lose his lunch…

-x-

"You know…don't hate me for saying this, but I do believe they make a good couple" he leaned back against the tree, watching the new 'Hot' couple acting quite Lovey-Dovey…quite disgustingly so

"Pfff" she snorted

"It's true, they fit together perfectly: the coach queen and the engine king…it's made to be…or that's how I feel"

"Well, your feel may be wrong, sooner or later he'll find out how she really is, a brainless, personalityless excuse for a coach!"

"Then what?"

"I…don't know…haven't gotten that far in the story yet"

He laughed

"So you're the storyteller now"

"Yes"

-x-

"Is it true what I've heard?" that voice, it could cut the air like a sharp knife, too bad it felt like that to the ears too.

School was out for the day and Harley was headed over to her tree to wait for JD as he was going to help her with her math homework.

"Well, that depends on what you heard" she bit back a comment, no sense in starting a fight now, not outside with everyone watching…especially Max.

"For one, that you actually KISSED the 'boose…I knew you were getting desperate…but girl, there are limits to how far you can go before you get pathetic"

It were not the words she said that got to Harley, no, it was the tone, that mocking, faux innocent tone, that sugary sweet voice that ticked her off…and the fact that she had insulted JD

"Well, then you heard right" he voice lowered slightly and her gray eyes turned steely, narrowing in annoyance "and really, I couldn't care less what you think of me…Bitch" the last word slipped before she could stop it…oh man, now she was in trouble

"WHAT did you just call me?" the sugary sweet tone was gone…replaced by something nasty and rather bratty…rather unpleasant, but then again, was she ever pleasant?

"You heard me…wannabe Barbie…I have no interest whatsoever in trying to appease you and your henchcoaches, so you can just piss off and leave me alone" she was annoyed and the damage had already been done so she decided: to hell with it, she was allowed to vent her annoyances every once in a while

"Listen girl, I'm only trying to do you a favor, hanging with that 'boose is social suicide, dating him would be even worse…" she cocked one perfect eyebrow "though I see now that it may be useless…you could well be mistaken for freight, so I'm really not surprised you had to turn to the caboose, none of the engines would look at you twice anyway" she said in an offhandedly tone

That was it, that Bimbo kept insulting JD like nothing was more normal

"One more word out of you about JD, and you'll be sorry you ever opened you mouth" her voice was low and quivering dangerously, almost like she was going to scream any minute now

"Or what? You gonna infect me with bad taste" she mocked, her voice back to its whiny tone "you know it's true, he's like every other 'boose, probably insane too"

That was the last straw, no one, and least of all SHE said these things about her friends and got away with it

"You…" she couldn't finish what she was about to say, but stomped over to the offending coach and backhanded her hard in the face "he's ten times better than you could ever…" she was cut off by a hand yanking at her braid…hard!

She let out a yelp at the sudden pain in her scalp; apparently her slap hadn't phased Lena as much as she thought it would, who now had a fistful of her hair and was pulling rather hard…time for more drastic measures, with a twist of her body she delivered a kick to the other coach, hitting her rather hard in the side, Lena let out a 'oomph' followed by a cry of pain as she staggered back, letting go of Harley's hair, a few thin strands sticking to her perfectly manicured fingers…

Harley balled her fists angrily, ready to attack again…

"Harley!? What are you doing?" a voice suddenly called

"what I should have done ages ago" she shot back to the caboose, charging once more and this time aiming a punch at the coaches face, she missed by an inch, then Lena took her chance and delivered a slap to her face, long nails turned inward, leaving deep marks in Harley's cheek, she yelled out…Damn the preps and their claws…she quickly turned, and this time she didn't miss, her fist connecting with Lena's nose.

She let out a scream, falling backwards to the ground, Harley followed, taking a handful of blonde hair, ripping her upwards again

"If you ever mutter as much as a single insult again" she hissed to the now whimpering girl "I will personally hunt you down and murder you"

The she raised her hand again and was about to hit her again…but she found herself stopped by a pair of strong hands pulling her back, then arms wrapped tightly around her from behind and a voice spoke

"C'mon Harley, she doesn't deserve this" JD said softly in her ear

"Yes she does, do you know what she said about you?" she protested, fighting his grip, he was stronger

"To tell you the truth, I don't care, and you shouldn't either" he continued, tightening his hold on her as she struggled

Her eyes were fixed on the weeping Lena, who was being pulled up from the ground by Max, and was now sporting a bloody nose, the look the Diesel sent her was enough to make her shy away 'crazy coach'

Why where they all so blind? Why couldn't they see what she had done? Wouldn't they have done the same?...she guessed not…not judging by the looks they were sending her, it seemed that half of the group shared Max's opinion and were sending her glances mixed with fear and hate, the other half just stared at her, the half that were freight and the low class, stared at her in a mix of respect and nervousness, impressed at the fact that she had actually had the guts to beat up Lena…she wasn't sure she liked that either…

Giving up she slumped back in his grasp, her head hanging in defeat, JD's arms loosened around her as he led her away, away from the staring group…

They moved in silence for a while, Harley thinking over what had just happened…and finally noticing how much her cheek hurt, she brought up a hand, brushing her fingers over the cuts, they stained red

"Shit" Oma was going to notice this, and she'd never hear the end of it, Oma hated it when she got herself into fights, even the slight tumbles with the freight irked her

_'Harleen, coaches are not supposed to get into fights, my dear, you are starting to act like the worst of freight'_ she'd say and do that clucking of the tongue she always did when she was displeased

"So, I guess our study date is called off then" JD suddenly spoke in a low voice, almost as if afraid to break the tender silence

"I'm sorry, I just think I'd like to be alone now…I need to think" she looked up at him, sending him an apologetic smile

He reached into his pocked, pulling out a red hankie, wiping her cheek

"It's all right, I understand…" then he smiled "she had it coming anyway…the thing I don't like is that you attacked her because she said things about Me, you should know by now that I don't care what she said"

"But…I just got so mad…" she sighed as they stopped in front of her home "I should go in, Oma's gonna have my head when she sees these" she indicated to the scratched on her cheek

He nodded and pulled her into a hug.

-x-

She watched him go with a slight smile before turning and entering

"Oma! Vati! I'm home!" she yelled, putting down her bookbag near the door and moved further into the house, looking around for anyone…maybe they went out…she halfway hoped so

"Harleen? Living room, there's someone here to see you" her brow furrowed gently and the grave tone of her grandmother made her slightly nervous, had the headmistress called home…did she know?

She slowly entered the living room, her eyes widening at the sight that greeted her, an older coach was sitting in the sofa, her hair golden and beautiful, face pretty in spite of the few wrinkles, frame was a stunning red color…the coach she had hoped never too see again, whom she had denied from her life, who had deserted her…

"mom?"

* * *

A/N: ooo a cliffy...sorta 


	5. Chapter the fifth

**Chapter the fifth: **

She didn't know what to say, or if she should say anything at that...the only thing she did was stare, eyes fixed on the coach now comfortably perched on the old green couch, looking almost out of place in their simple home, she looked too beautiful, looked like she belonged to a first class home, glamour...her mother

"what are you doing here?" she asked numbly, noticing the way the 'stranger' put on an overly caring smile and turned to her, the grey eyes that looked so much like hers, heavily framed with black mascara and eyeliner.

"But Harleen, darling, I came to see you...my, how you have grown, a young woman now..." she continued rambling, telling her how pretty she looked, how proud her mother was...

"How dare you!" Harley was slightly surprised at the harsh tone coming from her own mouth.

Mascara eyes widened in feigned shock

"But darling…"

"No! Mother...Lola…" she couldn't stand calling her mother, that coach that never was "don't pretend to care, don't bother, I haven't seen you in ten years…what makes you think you can just barge in here and expect me to welcome you with open arms…does father even know you're here?"

The fake expression broke at that and the sadness that overcame her mothers face almost made her feel slightly guilty, but she wouldn't, everything that…that whore got, she deserved, that and more, so the younger coach just set her jaw and continued glaring at her mother…Lola

"Harleen…listen…I'm sorry, but you don't understand…"

"Understand what? That you left us? That I'm nothing more than a burden? An obstacle in your search for glory? That you never loved dad?" she sighed "face it Lola, you're not my mother, you never were and never will be" and with that said she turned on the wheels and stormed out of the living room, heading straight to her room without even a second glance.

"Harleen!" Oma called after her, winching at the slamming of the door, burying her face in her hands

x-

Back in her room, Harley sat on her bed, staring at her door, fighting back tears, why now?...why now, she had long ago gotten over that person…that person who called herself mom.

Long time ago, it seemed to her, she just stopped, got up and left, left her daughter and her rather turbulent marriage, left to find glory.

Lola was beautiful, a first class sleeper, frame ruby red, hair golden, pale skin that looked almost ivory, making her look like an angel...

Why she and her father even hooked up was beyond her.

Feliks, her father was a steamer, not even a particularly good looking one either, reddish brown hair, dark green frame, almost colorless now after years of no maintenance.

She had inherited most of her looks from him…except the eyes, she had Lola's eyes.

The slamming of the front door brought her from her thoughts…dad was home. She stood up, rolling towards her door, gently leaning against it, trying to hear what was going on.

Muffled voices, calm at first, then rising…her heart sank slightly as it became apparent to her, exactly why Lola had decided to visit…not to see her daughter, to try being a mother…no, it was always money…

Sighing softly she let herself fall against the door, sliding down to a sitting position, her back pressed against the hard wood. Right now she wished she hadn't cancelled that study date with JD, not feeling like being alone…and going back there was out of the question, so she waited…

x-

A lifetime it felt to her, that she had been sitting there, leaning against the door.

Her back was stiff and her neck hurt, must have dosed off for a moment for the house was deathly silent.

Standing up and stretching out she rolled over to her bed, not made, like usual, the colorless covers all over the mattress.

She sat down and pulled off the rubber band that held her braid, and while she busied herself with rebraiding thoughts ran through her head, some not as nice as others…but in the end she decided that at least she could count herself lucky for her father…and Oma.

Feliks's mother, as soon as Lola left she moved in, helping with the raising of a young coach…definitely a hard job for a lone engine.

And to tell the truth, Harley had never been lacking anything in her raising, she knew of many others more unfortunate than her…

Like Kathy, her parents never saw a quiet day, her dad threatening to leave everyday, he never did.

JD who had lost his dad in a crash when he was 11, his mother a drunk outdated buffet car who had to be taken care of by her son.

No, Harley was not unlucky…though as she thought back on it like this, she couldn't help but think that she definitely had a messed up group of friends…oh well.

She then decided that she'd better get out there, maybe she could pay JD a visit, besides, everything sounded silent, so she guessed her mother was gone…typical.

Opening the door, she listened after any sound, and upon hearing none, moved out into the living room.

At first she thought it was empty, until her eyes fell on the couch, there he was, sitting there silent as the grave.

Her Father.

His eyes looked vacant somehow, he didn't even look at her as she entered, just stared out the window, and she knew perfectly why.

"dad, I'm going out" her voice was soft, as if trying not to disturb his train of thought

"all right…don't stay out too long" emotionless, tired, she had a feeling he hadn't really heard her, and some part of her told her she should try and talk to him…but years of living with the steamer told her he would be better off, left alone with his thoughts.

So she left.

x-

"So you're saying that your mom came over, asked for money, then left?"

JD sat wide eyed against her, by their trademark tree, at lunch the morning after, the question escaping his lips before he had time to think.

"Yah…pretty much" she didn't look up from her book, but she could imagine the look on his face, shocked, compassionate…JD

"Shit…I'm sorry Harley"

"What for? It's not your fault she missed her 'motherhood 101' lessons"

Not knowing what to say to that he just nodded and proceeded to stare out in space, a peaceful silence settling between them.

…that is until it was broken by a certain library coach, dropping down beside Harley

"That BASTARD!" she cried out, clutching at Harley's shoulders, tears threatening to fall from her eyes

"woah, Kathy…what…" the green coach wasn't sure what was going on "what happened?"

"it's Stefan" she sniffled "he…he just uncoupled me" she trailed off at the last word, burying her face in her friends shoulder

"wait…what?" she didn't understand, they had always been so good together, she had always liked the steamer all right "why?"

"told me he had found someone else, and you know who?" she looked up again, soft brown eyes overflowing "that DINER, Tatiana" then proceeded to sob into the borrowed shoulder.

Harley had never been one to be an expert on comforting, so she just settled with patting her friends back rather awkwardly and allowing her to cry on her shirt…

Sparing a glance at a dumbstruck JD, she sighed.

Would things ever change…?


End file.
